Word Learning and Individual Differences in Word Learning Reflected in Event-Related Potentials.

Author(s):  
Charles A. Perfetti ◽  
Edward W. Wlotko ◽  
Lesley A. Hart
2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Evonne M. Edwards ◽  
John K. Williams ◽  
Todd W. Hall ◽  
Keith J. Edwards

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily S Nichols ◽  
Marc F Joanisse

We investigated the extent to which second-language (L2) learning is influenced by the similarity of grammatical features in one’s first language (L1). We used event-related potentials to identify neural signatures of a novel grammatical rule - grammatical gender - in L1 English speakers. Of interest was whether individual differences in L2 proficiency and age of acquisition (AoA) influenced these effects. L2 and native speakers of French read French sentences that were grammatically correct, or contained either a grammatical gender or word order violation. Proficiency and AoA predicted Left Anterior Negativity amplitude, with structure violations driving the proficiency effect and gender violations driving the AoA effect. Proficiency, group, and AoA predicted P600 amplitude for gender violations but not structure violations. Different effects of grammatical gender and structure violations indicate that L2 speakers engage novel grammatical processes differently from L1 speakers and that this varies appreciably based on both AoA and proficiency.


2016 ◽  
Vol 41 (5-8) ◽  
pp. 308-323 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristina Borgström ◽  
Janne von Koss Torkildsen ◽  
Magnus Lindgren

Author(s):  
Claudia Krasowski ◽  
Sebastian Schindler ◽  
Maximilian Bruchmann ◽  
Robert Moeck ◽  
Thomas Straube

AbstractFaces transmit rich information about a unique personal identity. Recent studies examined how negative evaluative information affects event-related potentials (ERPs), the relevance of individual differences, such as trait anxiety, neuroticism, or agreeableness, for these effects is unclear. In this preregistered study, participants (N = 80) were presented with neutral faces, either associated with highly negative or neutral biographical information. Faces were shown under three different task conditions that varied the attentional focus on face-unrelated features, perceptual face information, or emotional information. Results showed a task-independent increase of the N170 component for faces associated with negative information, while interactions occurred for the Early Posterior Negativity (EPN) and the Late Positive Potential (LPP), showing ERP differences only when paying attention to the evaluative information. Trait anxiety and neuroticism did not influence ERP differences. Low agreeableness increased EPN differences during perceptual distraction. Thus, we observed that low agreeableness leads to early increased processing of potentially hostile faces, although participants were required to attend to a face-unrelated feature.


2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 171-192
Author(s):  
Nadezhda A. Mkrtychian ◽  
Svetlana N. Kostromina ◽  
Daria S. Gnedykh ◽  
Diana M. Tsvetova ◽  
Evgeny D. Blagovechtchenski ◽  
...  

Background. A rich vocabulary supports human achievements in socio-economic activities, education, and communication. It is therefore important to clarify the nature of language acquisition as a complex multidimensional process. However, both the psychological and neurophysiological mechanisms underpinning language learning, as well as the links between them, are still poorly understood. Objective. This study aims to explore the psychological and neurophysiological correlates of successful word acquisition in a person’s native language. Design. Thirty adults read sentences with novel nouns, following which the participants’ electroencephalograms were recorded during a word-reading task. Event-related potentials in response to novel words and alpha oscillation parameters (amplitude, variability, and long-range temporal correlation dynamics) were analyzed. Learning outcomes were assessed at the lexical and semantic levels. Psychological variables measured using Amthauer’s test (verbal abilities), BIS/BAS scales (motivation), and the MSTAT-1 (ambiguity tolerance) and alpha oscillation parameters were factored. Results. Better recognition of novel words was related to two factors which had high factor loadings for all measured alpha oscillation parameters, indicating the role of attention networks and respective neural activity for enabling information processing. More successful learners had lower P200 amplitude, which also suggests higher attention-system involvement. Another factor predicted better acquisition of word meanings for less ambiguity-tolerant students, while the factor which pooled logical conceptual thinking ability and persistence in goal-reaching, positively correlated with acquisition of both word forms and meanings. Conclusion. The psychological factors predominantly correlated with word-learning success in semantic tasks, while neurophysiological variables were linked to performance in the recognition task.


2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (5) ◽  
pp. 587-597
Author(s):  
Hadiseh Nowparast Rostami ◽  
Andrea Hildebrandt ◽  
Werner Sommer

Abstract At the group level, women consistently perform better in face memory tasks than men and also show earlier and larger N170 components of event-related brain potentials (ERP), considered to indicate perceptual structural encoding of faces. Here we investigated sex differences in the relationship between the N170 and face memory performance in 152 men and 141 women at group mean and individual differences levels. ERPs and performance were measured in separate tasks, avoiding statistical dependency between the two. We confirmed previous findings about superior face memory in women and a—sex-independent—negative relationship between N170 latency and face memory. However, whereas in men, better face memory was related to larger N170 components, face memory in women was unrelated with the amplitude or latency of the N170. These data provide solid evidence that individual differences in face memory within men are at least partially related to more intense structural face encoding.


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